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As we know, the Padres have yet to land the starting pitcher that general manager Josh Byrnes has been seeking since the end of the season.

It’s not for a lack of effort. Byrnes has been working overtime on the phone, courting both free agents and trades. But he balked at offering Dan Haren $13 million for one season given his medical report or committing to a four-year contract for Edwin Jackson.

However, while the Padres haven’t made news on the player acquisition front, they have been very active behind the scenes.

The changes being made to the playing field at Petco Park are coming into focus, although the construction fences circling the outfield are confusing some visitors to the Park at the Park.

“The fences are much closer to homeplate than I thought they would be,” one fan said recently as he viewed the construction fences erected some 30 feet inside the old fences.

“The new fences are just going into place,” Padres president and CEO Tom Garfinkel said last week.

The Padres haven’t set a date for the unveiling of the changes to Petco Park. In addition to moving in the fences 10 feet along the length of right field and in left center, the Padres are moving the visiting bullpen from the field to a spot above and behind the Padres bullpen in left center and adding seats above the new fence in right field.

Those new seats are designed like the seats installed atop the Green Monster at Fenway Park in Boston. There will be four-seat clusters with each set having a table. There will be between 50 and 60 tables in the section. “We think it’s a great new seating area,” said Garfinkel.

The Padres have also launched a new “membership” rewards program that Garfinkel believes could become a model for other professional sports teams.

“We’re very excited about the membership program,” said Garfinkel. “The fans are excited.”

Open right now to purchasers of season tickets, the Padres new membership program will expand to anyone who buys a ticket (through the club) as soon as single-game sales begin around FanFest.

Garfinkel said the goal of the new program is to build a stronger connection between the Padres and their fans. Indeed, subscribers to the new program are identified as “Members of the San Diego Padres Baseball Club.”

The rewards will expand beyond tickets and souvenirs to include year-round events – some including Padres players and staff members -- and discounts at participating partners.

The new membership program will have three levels (blue, gold and platinum) and four divisions (fanatic, social, business and family). Full season ticket purchasers become platinum members. Half-season ticket holders immediately qualify at the gold level with holders of a 21-game plan entering on the blue level.

Benefits increase with status. The Padres have already held five events since the end of the 2012 season for the “members,” including the Dec. 8 holiday party on the field (open to all members) and a tailgate party before a San Diego State football game (open to social members).

Garfinkel said one goal of the new program is to make the rewards “more attainable and meaningful.” He believes the new membership program has helped spur an increase in season ticket sales, which the Padres say are running 25 percent ahead of the same time last season.

“Season tickets are the lowest prices by far,” said Garfinkel.

Like many major league teams, the Padres now use “dynamic pricing” for single-game sales with the cost of tickets based on a number of factors including demand, day of the week and opponent.

“We have a number of different ticket options,” said Garfinkel. For example, buyers of a Six-Pack ticket plan will be guaranteed one of the games when the Yankees visit next Aug. 2-4.

Padres Notes

--Right-handed starter Wilfredo Boscan, 23, who the Padres acquired from Texas in the trade that sent reliever Cory Burns to the Rangers, continues to lead the Venezuela Winter League in earned run average. Boscan is 3-1 with a 1.80 ERA in 12 starts. Outfielder-first baseman Jesus Guzman is hitting .304 (28-for-92) with three homers and 12 RBI in Venezuela.

--Outfielder-first baseman Kyle Blanks has completed his winter ball activity in Puerto Rico. He hit .286 (20-for-70) with two homers and nine RBI.